The invention relates to a wheel bearing on an axle housing in the form of an axle tube for vehicles, in particular commercial vehicles, in which the wheel is fixed, for example, with wheel bolts, to a wheel hub, which is rotatable on the axle journal of the axle tube. The axle journal is clamped, as a separate component, on to an end section of the axle tube.
For passenger vehicles, a method is known whereby the axle journal is connected to the axle housing by means of flange connections. The purpose thereof is to shift the interface between the wheel, wheel hub and axle housing, i.e. at the wheel bearing, to a location between the axle journal and the axle housing so that if the brake disc needs replacement, the mounting of the wheel, i.e. the wheel bearing, is not affected, because it never needs to be taken out. However, such flange connections are not suitable for the absorption of the considerable forces encountered in commercial vehicles.
It has therefore already been proposed to provide the separate axle journal with a conical connecting section which is clamped by means of an axial screw into an inner cone of the end section which opens towards the axle end. However, this wheel bearing requires considerable manufacturing and assembly effort and can, moreover, lead to an undesired expansion of the end section of the axle tube.